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Comment by NickM | Hacker News Reader

FWIW they had some insane discounts toward the end of March, to the extent that I'm not sure high prices is the problem. I bought a new long-range AWD Model Y myself a couple weeks ago because between the discounts and tax credits I ended up paying under $40k (would've been around $36k but even after sales tax and fees and stuff it was still only around $39k).

At those prices I'm not sure how they aren't selling more cars. For the amount of range and functionality you get, that kind of deal blows the competition out of the water; no other EV I'm aware of comes close. (That said, I have no idea if they still made much of a profit off that car or if they were just desperate to clear out space.)

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> At those prices I'm not sure how they aren't selling more cars.

I cannot imagine paying $40K for a car, and I'm sure there are millions like me. You may be optimistic on what you think the average person can afford.

The average price of a new car is $48k:

https://caredge.com/guides/new-car-price-trends-in-2024

The average new car purchaser may not be the average person, also the average include trucks with tend to be super super expensive.

also the average include trucks with tend to be super super expensive.

Funny how things change.

My first new car was a truck, for the very reason that pick-up trucks were generally much cheaper than cars because they were mostly empty space and didn't have so many creature comforts.

Now, trucks are like rolling vacation spas. When my wife's car was side-swiped, the insurance company gave her a huge new truck as a loaner. It had more electronics, more comfortable seating, and more luxury appointments than our living room.

Right, of course, $40k is not cheap in absolute terms. But for a luxury long-range AWD electric crossover, it's significantly cheaper than the competition (at least here in the US), and also much cheaper than the same car cost a year ago.

My main point is that if prices have come down a lot, yet Tesla is now selling fewer cars than before, then it seems like there must be other factors in play besides price.

> At those prices I'm not sure how they aren't selling more cars.

The above mentioned Elon Factor?

Yeah, I mean sure, maybe that's all there is to it, but he's been a high-profile asshole for years now. He's definitely changed, but that change happened years ago, it's not a new problem.

I guess it's possible that maybe it's just taken this long to catch up with him though.

My two cents are that it's more important to support the company that's building the best EVs, and the positive impact Tesla has on the world is way bigger than whatever negative effects Elon's tweets are having, but I can definitely relate to folks' discomfort. I wish we had the old Elon back.

I agree with almost your entire comment, but I hope they boot Elon and bring JB in as CEO. Elon has no humility and empathy, JB does (at least from my brief interactions years ago). Old Elon is gone I fear, but maybe he finds himself, I really hope so. Story isn’t over yet.

Yeah, I think that's a great idea, I would love to see that happen.

Elon is toxic and the cars are either exactly the same or worse than they’ve been for years. And then you have the bizarro cyber truck.

I was looking at adding another Y to our household while those sales were offered, but didn’t because my income prevents us from getting the tax credit, so maybe next year. Agree it’s a great value, more customer research required (what price do the vehicles need to get to in order to move faster, and can Tesla still make a profit at those prices).

Do you think that maybe a $40K car is a fairly large amount of money for a lot of people?

Average price of a new car in the US is ~$47k as of February 2024.

I'd be curious if the median price is a bit lower, but perhaps we're finding that that average price is not sustainable?

Agreed, US consumer is potentially tapped out.

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